Breaking the Lock
by Death by Bambi Tapes
Summary: Sequel to Stealing the Key and Locked Up For Good. Sarah's last chance to be free of Jareth and free her country from the war against his. But when it comes right down to it, she's all alone against him.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I disclaim.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sarah sat against a wall outside a small town waiting for Hawk to return. The large bag beside her held her mother's body. Sarah kept her eyes focused straight ahead, visibly ignoring the body beside her.  
  
Hawk walked through the gate, leading three horses.  
  
"Where'd you get those?" Sarah asked warily.  
  
"'Borrowed 'em" Hawk answered lazily, a grin on his face.  
  
Sarah grumbled as Hawk helped her mount the gray mare. "You mean stole them."  
  
"Take your pick. I don't mind." He packed what little provisions he had 'acquired' earlier onto the chestnut gelding, and gently lifted Lynda's body onto the horse, also.  
  
"Come on. Let's go." He mounted the black colt and turned to grab the chestnut's lead line from Sarah. As the line passed into his hand the young horse balked, and Hawk reined it in while catching his balance.  
  
"Here. You hold it." Hawk handed the line back to Sarah. "Follow me."  
  
And he nudged the black into a trot and took off down the dusty road.  
  
"Wait! Where are we going?" Sarah called.  
  
"To the Woodland Realm." Hawk answered.  
  
"Why?"  
  
Hawk didn't answer.  
  
"How long is the ride."  
  
"Not far from here. We cleared the Labyrinth two hours ago-"  
  
"Yeah I remember." Sarah shuddered as she felt her 'chains' tighten. As they left the Labyrinth the magic had pulled taunt so that it seemed that every step she took was like walking against the wind in a hurricane.  
  
Hawk glared good-naturedly at her. "-So we should be at the border within the hour."  
  
They rode on in silence.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sarah decided that the Underground was indeed a strange place as they rode up on the border of the Woodland Realm. Jareth's lands were dusty and dark, but at the very border of where they turned into the woods it was light and the air was happy.  
  
"When the Underground was created, the Gods equally distributed the lands." Hawk rode up beside her. "The Faes were given the lands that Jareth has. They created the Labyrinth and all that was built up in it. Elves were given these lands in which they created woods and ponds. The pure-blooded Elves died out long ago, but there are still half-elves and Elf-Fae hybrids living here. To the north is a fire-land which was gifted to Dragons and their bonded humans."  
  
"Where do your people come from?"  
  
"Huh?" Hawk stared at Sarah.  
  
"The shape-shifters."  
  
Hawk was quiet for a while. "The shifters aren't exactly a 'people'. There were a long time ago-they came from the south- but they weren't necessarily welcomed so they learned to hide their powers. They married Faes and Elves and the Dragon's Brood, so the ability to shift is rare now."  
  
"Why weren't they welcomed?"  
  
Hawk sighed. "The south is like your human Hell. People weren't very happy to have so-called demons running about their lands."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Hawk nodded. "Come." He dismounted and began to lead the colt into the forest. At his first step into the Woodland Realm, and young man armed with a bow and arrow leapt down and landed a foot away from Hawk, his bow bent.  
  
As his eyes settled on Hawk, he laughed. He relaxed the bow and placed the arrow back into the silver quiver on his back. "Well, if it isn't the little songbird.", he laughed.  
  
Hawk rolled his eyes. "It's nice to see you too, Nathaniel."  
  
"So you have decided to grace us with your presence once more, Christo?" Nathaniel grinned.  
  
Sarah stared. The man was obviously one of the Elf-Fae hybrids Hawk had told him about, for the wild Fae magic vibrated around him. His long, black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and his emerald eyes danced almost as wildly as Hawk's own.  
  
"Who is this beautiful young lady?" Nathaniel grinned and lifted Sarah's hand to his lips.  
  
Hawk grinned slyly. "That is Sarah Williams."  
  
Nathaniel's eyes widened slightly. He lowered himself to his knees. "Sorry, milady."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Nathaniel stole a glance at Hawk. "Christo sent word earlier after your mother's death, Your Majesty-"  
  
"Huh?" Sarah gaped stupidly at the man in front of her.  
  
"Your mother died, Sarah." Hawk's eyes were dancing. "You are the queen."  
  
Sarah's mouth hung open. "What?"  
  
Hawk and Nathaniel nodded.  
  
"I'm eighteen!" she protested. "I was barely passing High School! I FAILED my Government class!"  
  
Nathaniel looked at Hawk, who shrugged.  
  
"You can't have someone be queen who didn't understand the Bill of Rights or the U.S Constitution-"  
  
"Alright, you're confusing us. Stop it." Hawk put a hand on her shoulder. "You're the queen by birthright, Sarah. All involved in monarchies know that is not always a good thing, but they accept it."  
  
"But I don't WANT to be a queen!"  
  
"Milady-"  
  
"Don't you MILADY me, Nathaniel!"  
  
The half-elf grinned. "Sarah. The fact that you were Heir to the Woodland Realm is what had gotten you in trouble earlier on in your life. You might as well seize the advantage and take a stand against him."  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
Hawk rolled his eyes. "What the elf-boy is hinting at- you've got to learn to speak plainly Nathaniel- is the fact that Jareth wanted you because you were heir to the throne."  
  
There was silence as Sarah gaped at Hawk. "What?" she whispered.  
  
For so long she had believed at first he- but no.  
  
"That little bastard." Sarah spat. "I'm going to- Where the hell is that damned sword?"  
  
Hawk nodded to the packhorse. Sarah rushed up to it to grab the sword, but stopped at the sight of the body-bag.  
  
Nathaniel watched. "Is that-?" he trailed off.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I will take you to the Great Halls." He said. "We will bury her in the Tomb there." He grabbed the reigns of the gray and the chestnut's lead line.  
  
"Come, Sarah." He passed the chestnut's line to the hand that held the reigns, and pulled Sarah away from the body.  
  
"It's a couple days walk to the halls." Nathaniel said to Hawk.  
  
"I know. But we need to get as far away from the border as possible."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Oh, the first chapter. The beginning of the end. The apocalypse of the creation. The Alpha and the Omega. No, if you'll excuse my rantings, I'm gonna go watch The Ring. 


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I disclaim.  
  
A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed. It's fun fun.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
CHAPTER TWO  
  
They sat in the darkness of the forest, having risked a small fire. Nathaniel had returned from hunting nearly half an hour earlier and they feasted on the small deer that he had brought back to camp.  
  
"So there we were, in the palace, and Christo here decided that Crysta should set all the candles in the room on fire-"  
  
Hawk cut Nathaniel off. "No, that's not how it happened! You're trying to blame it on me!" he protested.  
  
"It was your fault. Just like that incident with the turtle."  
  
Sarah grinned. "What incident with the turtle?"  
  
"Now THAT wasn't my fault. That was your fault!" Hawk butted in.  
  
Nathaniel grinned and leaned back against a tree. "So it was."  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Well what, Sarah?" Hawk asked, grinning with feigned innocence.  
  
"The story about the fire.. and the turtle." She turned to look at Nathaniel. "What did you do to the turtle?"  
  
His grin widened, and he shook his head. "No."  
  
"Oh, come on." Sarah pleaded. "Please?"  
  
"No!" he exclaimed, laughing.  
  
"Come on, Nat." She reached towards him to give him a friendly shove. Her hand came within an inch of his skin, and she jerked it back. Strong magic now buzzed through her arm, making it somewhat uncomfortably warm.  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence, then Nathaniel grinned once more. "Nat?"  
  
"Yes. Now tell me about the turtle."  
  
"Actually, it's late." Hawk interrupted. "You should be asleep."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Sleep, Sarah." Nathaniel grinned, nearly identical to Hawk's. "It's late, and we'll be at the palace in a couple days. You need to be well rested then."  
  
Sarah snorted in disgust. "You know, you've spent way to much time with the thief." She retorted, suppressing a small grin.  
  
"Good night, Sarah."  
  
She rolled her eyes and lay down. Despite her protests she fell asleep almost immediately.  
  
When her breathing became regular, Hawk turned and glared at Nathaniel. "What in the name of the Underground was that?"  
  
"What was what?" Nathaniel asked uncomfortably, stirring under Hawk's intense gaze.  
  
"The magic-whoosie thing."  
  
"You know what that is."  
  
"Yes I do." Hawk hissed. "Thus the 'what in the name of the Underground' and not 'oh, by golly gee wiz, what was that?'!"  
  
"I don't want to talk about it, Hawk." Nathaniel whispered, and the rolled over and pretended to be asleep.  
  
"Nathaniel." The half-elf didn't answer him. "Nathaniel."  
  
Hawk sighed in exasperation when his long-time friend didn't answer once more. The thief stood, and walked the few paces to the small fire. Taking some of the earth into his hands, he smothered the fire with the soil.  
  
He sat back against some of their packs while his eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness. He watched the woods, for the first time since his family had been killed he felt a need to protect someone other than himself. Nathaniel was younger than he, though he didn't always act like it- the boy grew up too fast, even faster than Hawk himself had. Sarah. who knew about Sarah? She was strange- it came from living aboveground for so long. The girl didn't belong Aboveground, her mother shouldn't have left her there. Half human- quarter elf and quarter Fae. the humans would never have accepted her as they hadn't all her life.  
  
Hawk shook his head. Quit it, he scolded himself, you're growing too soft. And when that happens, well, you know how that turns out don't you, Christo? Caring about these two the way you do, it's not good.  
  
Hawk put his mind to rest and shifted, finding comfort in his fur and paws. He curled up and hid his face under his left paw, listening intently to the forest around him. He could hear Nathaniel's breathing, and Sarah's somewhat softer breathing. The horses were edgy with the sudden apparition of a wolf. Nothing dangerous was in the forest- a rabbit stirred about fifty paces off, a deer suddenly took flight at the scent of a pack of wolves, a lone owl hooted a lonesome cry.  
  
Cassa. He missed his wife so much, especially at times like these when it was as if he was all alone. He missed her joy, her dry humor, the way she felt in his arms after a day of pain and turmoil.  
  
And Erryn and Treya. His little girls, they were only three years old when- no. He wouldn't dwell on them now. He couldn't afford to become lost in memory once more.  
  
He closed his eyes and fell to sleep. He slept lightly, awakening at any small sound- a habit easily formed in times as dangerous as these.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
When Sarah awakened the next morning, Hawk was gone and Nathaniel was packing.  
  
"You're awake." He smiled widely. "Here." He tossed her a roll of bread. "Breakfast."  
  
"I don't usually eat breakfast. If it do it'll throw off my whole day." She said, setting the bread aside.  
  
"You shouldn't skip breakfast." Nathaniel answered non-chalantly as he strapped the bags onto the chestnut gelding. "It's the most important meal of the day."  
  
Sarah laughed. "I've heard." She said dryly. "I've had it pounded into my brain since I was a little girl."  
  
Nathaniel sighed and grabbed the roll ands shoved it into her hand.  
  
They stopped, startled by the sudden closeness. They stood, staring at each other for a minute, and Sarah began to feel uncomfortable as the same magic from the night before tingled up her arm from the spot where her skin met his. She swallowed as his face came nearer to her. He stopped just before he would have kissed her, and turned suddenly and returned to his packing.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Nathaniel berated himself in his mind as he tied his pack to the gelding. He had nearly kissed her! Nearly kissed his queen! They could have his head for that!  
  
He could feel her eyes boring into his back. Self-conscious of every move he made, he stiffly packed more items into the bags.  
  
"Nathaniel." He heard her voice behind him.  
  
"What, Sarah?" He turned, and was startled to find her less then a foot away from himself. He wondered briefly how he had been so involved in what he was doing that his excellent Elven hearing hadn't heard her come up behind him. He only had a moment to ponder that, for suddenly her lips were upon his. 


End file.
